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Buying a motorcycle in Europe??

Wondering if there is anyone out there from Canada or USA who has gone to Europe and bought a bike from a dealer or individual, driven it for an extended holiday time, then sold it back to the person you bought it from or put it on the local market and had luck with that?
We are in the process of deciding whether to try this instead of paying the high cost of renting.
Another question, any information of a company that you have dealt with on an extended rental contract, e.g. 3-5 months in any country in Europe?

"We are only starting the trip in Frankfurt then travelling to 4 other countries"

It has nothing to do w/ Germany -- it is Schengen. See the link ellenem posted. The vast majority of European countries are in the Schengen zone. You don't get 90 days in each country -- it is 90 days total.

Hi I just went to the Schengen website. It appears if you are Canadian or US citizen this visa rule doesn't apply. Is this correct? Also do you have another website for insurance for more than 90 days while travelling Europe?

Agree with above - as a CDN you do not require a visa to enter the schengen zone, but you can only stay 90 days out of any 180 rolling day (ie you cant do a day trip out and reset the clock). If you want to stay longer you need a long-stay visa.
I know its not an official rules website, but should answer some of your questionshttp://goeurope.about.com/od/europeantripplanning/f/schengen_stay.htm

Hi Thanks again for all the good info. I do not like what I am reading. Has anyone US or Canadian applied for and received a long term visa for tourist travel? We want to stay 120 days......but it appears from everything that I am reading 90 days is the max. I cannot seem to find out how to apply for a longer visa. Any info on this would surely help!!

You can stay in EUROPE 120 days as long as you stay in Schengen zone countries only 90 of those days. Study the map -- use that other 30 days to visit the United Kingdom, Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Serbia, Turkey, Ukraine . . .

To apply for a Schengen visa you apply to the country where you'll be arriving. Go to that country's embassy or consular site in Canada for details. Or phone.

Frankly, from everything I have ever read it is a long involved process that includes all kinds of paperwork. You would be better off following ellenem's advice above and work the non-Schengen countries into your itinerary to get your 120 day target in Europe but with no more than 90 days inside Schengen.

Well everyone, thanks for the help. We are learning that we will have to change our trip 90 days in the Schengen countries then off to either Croatia or Turkey for a month. So anyone out there who has been following this forum suggesting either country. I guess we would drop off our motorcycle in Greece then ferry out to Turkey or travel by bus or rail if there is to Croatia.

Where did this 120 day requirement come from? It is my understanding is that on your first day in Germany two clocks start -- One counting 90 days in the Schengen zone and another 180 day clock that run continuous for the next 180 days. When you leave the Schengen zone the Schengen clock stops but the 180 day clock keeps running. When you reenter the zone the clock starts where it stopped. Some have suggested that you keep some documents (especially hotel receipts) for the time outside the zone.

You can get a long term tourist visa from any country in the Schengen zone and that visa will be recognized by the other countries. For the visa you need to document via bank statements etc. that you have sufficient resources for the time period, adequate health insurance, etc., so that there is no hint that you might be seeking employment or being dependent on the state.

The 120 day "requirement" is the OP wenday's desired length of vacation in Europe. It was apparent for quite a bit of this thread that wenday did not understand the Schengen zone situation. That's why many posters kept mentioning the 120 days.

fmpden makes a good point: The 90 total days in Schengen countries do not have to be in sequence. The days in Schengen countries cannot total more than 90 days during wenday's 120-day visit to Europe.

You will need to get a Dutch motorcycle licence and be registered as a resident of the Netherlands to enable you to register and insure a bike in the Netherlands. If you are only here 5 weeks you won't be able to do that. You could probably hire a bike using your Canadian licence.

If a child born to German parents acquires another citizenship at birth (e.g., based on place of birth [birth in jus-soli countries mostly of the Americas], or descent from one parent [one German parent and one foreign parent]).

Could I have the company here buy, register and insure it here on my behalf ?

OP wants an old bike, so no he can't buy one for export - and it would have to be exported within a very short period, since Dutch tax rules on motor vehicles are strict and stringent.

Whether your company would be prepared to buy and insure a bike for you only you and your company know. It will count as a company car and you will pay tax over it on your income tax if they were to agree to it.

Were your parents German citizens when you were born or had they taken Canadian citizenship? If the latter and they didn't ask permission to maintain their German citizenship then you don't qualify by birth. Germany, like the Netherlands is strict on dual nationality.
You would need to contact the German authorities to see if you qualify or not.

Oh and importing your bike you would still need to insure it and register it in the Netherlands is you are staying for any length of time. If your Canadian insurance covers you in Europe (highly unlikely) then you can import it on a temporary basis.If You want to keep it here for longer it needs to pass safety tests, and you have to pay BPM and road tax on it and register it here and insure it here.
If you remain for a year, assuming you get your German passport, then you have to take a Dutch driving test anyway, and another one for the bike, and you will be limited on the size of bike you can ride initially. Driving tests require you to take lessons and pass written tests too. I am pretty sure you cannot just swap your Canadian licence for a Dutch one.

as I have been traveling for work throughout the world for the last 10 years,

Most jurisdictions agree where I get paid from and pay income tax is where my drivers licence should be . ( this has come up a few times but when I state I get paid and pay income tax in canada it has taken care of the problem. )

I can bring my motorcycle and leave it in the usa for any period of time as far as I know . ( I know a few people who have. ) ( snow birds candian who go to Florida for winter leave mobile homes / cars there.

I have seen some tv shows where persons from Europe shipped thier cars to North America and then driven to South America. With eu plates. I suppose it would depend if the countries in question would allow free movement in each others country. Which I believe is the case. It would allow the free movement of registered vehicles.

So it would be theoretically possible to ship my motorcycle here as personal luggage and not pay any duties or taxes on the grounds it will return to canada. And I continue being based in canada as I plan to do . Does that make sense ?

In theory it would be similar to a german working in Denmark for the week , asking as he lived in Germany he would be ok.

I know danmark is pretty serious about thier rules as I was occasionally pulled over driving a german rental in Danmark as they thought I was a Danish person driving a german car to avoid the heavily taxed danish cars. Or what it seemed like.